Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

Abstract

To maximize the impact of our field, sociologists must continue to write books that are accessible, explain problems of wide familiarity and concern, and empower their audiences toward action and awareness. By tackling a facet of current digital technology that has become so deeply engrained in our lives as to often feel like a part of our brains and bodies, Safiya Umoja Noble has accomplished just that feat. Just consider how often we find ourselves searching for answers and information online, sometimes almost habitually, whether where to eat, what’s going on in the world, or to gain knowledge and facts about a place, person, idea, or group. For some of us, typing “google.com” (or maybe even just a “g” and relying on autocomplete) seems to be a matter of muscle memory rather than cognitive effort. Yet as Noble convincingly demonstrates, search engines are not simply neutral tools for mindlessly completing tasks. Without substantial reform and restructuring, they are also a source of immense social power and financial domination, and ultimately, mechanisms of ongoing oppression.